I am just starting to knit. I started today. There are 2 different types of knitting I learned.
I am right handed.
Which is the easiest and the best to use, the Continental or English?
I tried both, but of course I am all thumbs right now. So I can’t tell which would be best for me.
Thanks.:knitting:
Well, work with one for a few days, then work with the other. You’re right, they’re both going to feel awkward at first, so just keep trying. Many right handers knit continental (with the yarn in the left hand) and many left handers knit english (with the yarn in the right hand), so handedness doesn’t really matter. We really can’t say what’s best, or easiest for you, it’s a personal preference.
No matter what anyone says one is not better than the other either. It’s personal preference and you should do whichever one makes you feel comfortable.
That said… knowing both ways is really beneficial for some types of knitting especially stranded (fair isle). It’ll be a while before you’re ready for that, but thought I’d throw that in there. 
Thanks for the suggestions. Now I just need to practice practice practice.
Hi! :waving:
Here’s a link to the best continental instruction video I’ve ever found.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuRLFl36tDY&feature=related
It’ll give you a great introduction to continental style knitting, but as Jan says, it’s great to know both ways!
Good Luck,
Ruthie
I originally learned to knit English style. Years later I switched to Continental. I have taught quite a few people to knit and find different things work for different ones. Some people, even if I try to teach them English, want to get that left hand involved, so I decide to show them Continental. Others I’ve started on Continental and they got it right off and some couldn’t get the Continental purl so I switched them to English and they found it comfortable. They both work well as far as the knitting stitches themselves go. Both are nice to know and you’ll learn which works best for you personally. Try them both, not necessarily right off the bat but eventually.
I learned to knit in the Continental method a few years ago to see if it helped my right shoulder rotator cuff pain and it did! I have trouble using this method when knitting complicated patterns, so switch back to English for that.
personal preference.
mine is Continental. I have fumbled around with English lately and am not happy with it. And why should I switch?
Maybe to start, consider who is teaching you - if there is a real life teacher you have. It may be easier to follow that way first.
And: it is helpful to know both methods. But with each you can do it the hard way or the easy way. I know several people that think English is slow. But then I see really fast English knitters or really slow Continental: it is all personal again. Same with ergonomic thoughts. FOR ME Continental is better in that respect. But that may not be true for you.
Pick one and start for a while. Then try the other. Then you will know at some point.
Thanks for all your input. No one is teaching me, I am learning from watching videos on You Tube and this site.
I am finding that I am most comfortable with English, but I do find I use the continental for the stitch at the end of a row, the knit isn’t so loose then.
I first learned basic knit (nothing as clever as purl!) at school by watching someone face to face. So I guess I do the mirror of whatever they did? I have yarn in my right hand and tend to hold only yarn not needles as I make a pass. I don’t know how to correct this, as I suspect if I ever get onto more complicated patterns I may drop everything and have to start over. Any suggestions??
if you really do the mirror image of (standart) knitting then the stitches will move from the right needle onto the left needle (seen from your perspective).
That is called left handed knitting or knitting for lefthanded people.
I do think, that knitting is so ambidextrous that it does not matter if you are left or right handed, but it does exist, this left handed knitting.
So ask yourself: how do the stitches move? Left needle to right (then standart) or right to left (then left handed).
There are a few modifications you have to make to patterns, if you do knit left handed. But you can do it.
However: what hand you hold your yarn in can vary with right and left handed knitting depending on your knitting style (English or Continental).
In standart knitting (stitches moving from left to right needle) and Continental, I hold my yarn in my left hand. English knitters, though, hold it in their right hand.
In left handed knitting, the yarn is held the opposite wy for each style.
Hi! I have a question. I’m a new knitter about 2 months, and I knit continental. I know a few people who swear by English? Do different styles change the way the stitches look?
Thanks!
No, the sts look the same no matter which hand you hold the yarn in. If sts look twisted when doing continental, it may be that the yarn is wrapped backwards on the purl stitch. To untwist them, knit into the leg closest to the needle tip.
I am a fairly new knitter (one year) and learned both too, but I primarily use English because my stitches are more even. I do practice both though.
I tried to learn Continental last year, but never could get the purls. This time I learned English and within about 15 minutes I was very fluid with both knits and purls so personnally it suits me better. I can still do knits the Continental way, but it’s just easier for me the other way.
dont remind me, i learned to knit this year from this website and as i could crochet first i went to continental - i cant hold my yarn right handed it just feels wrong. it took me ages and several different ways but i can purl and no twisted stitches 
reckon at some point i will do a blog entry on all the differnt ways i found to purl just so i can rememebr how long a road it was
nice to see that everyone really has a preference for one or the other.
I have learned some English, just a little. Well, you know, I just had to with all the discussion and all the talk about it.
But knitting Continental for over 30 years (since my early childhood), I am a lost cause at English and do not see the reason for switching, of course. That is my personal thing.
Purling? Well, there are soooo many methods in Continental, but really: any works as long as you know it. And once you do… all the same.
I take a fraction of a second longer for a purl than a knit, but really, I do not think it is noticeable much in my knitting speed. So for me this is all the same.
I do notice, though, that all the different methods feel clumsy at first when I try them. Maybe that is my own preference, or maybe beginning knitters feel like that with every method of purls.
My husband does not knit. But he watches the knitting. And to him I did explain the knit stitch and the purl stitch by tying knots into thick string. Just one loop in one other. And yes: you can turn it either way and it looks different on both sides, but the same from the front (if you know what I mean). He still does not knit, but just understands the concept of the knit and the purl and their reversability. And if he had to figure it out, he might end up making stitches the English way? That makes more sense to some people because you see the wrapping happening? While the “looping through” of the Continental is not grafic enough?